Where Have All the German Restaurants Gone?

My Brother had his Wedding Reception in what used to be great Family owned restaurant in Albany, NY - The Bavarian Chalet. soon after his reception the family sold the restaurant, and within 5 years they closed up shop. That used to be a great place Wiener Schnitzel and potato pancakes almost as as good as my German Grandma's. She was a Chef for a Group of Franciscan Monks in Rensselaer, NY so I had my own German Restaurant it was called Grandma's house. No Restaurant ever came close to her cooking just ask the group of Monks that showed up at her Funeral. (No vow of silence for these guys.
There is one in Ballston Spa near Saratoga Springs called the Spa Brauhaus, it is good but not nearly as good as The Baverian Chalet was in its prime.

Way back when... like about 1950... there was a real Mom and Pop German Restaurant in a tiny crossroads called Washingtonville, NY (near Milbrook in Dutchess County). He cooked, she served - there was, maybe, seating for 15 or 20. Sauerbraten was what to order, along with potato pancakes. When she discovered my lust for their potato pancakes, she would keep them coming as long as I would keep shoveling them down- drowned in spicy Sauerbraten gravy.

Also, a German bar/restaurant in Schenectady that I used to frequent when I taught for a year up in that frozen city- excelent fresh beer, wursts, and bread to die for.. cant remember the name (Nicklaus???) - that was about 1960.

Cheers, John


Cheers, John

This is a family board, 86 the lust talk.

Like Jimmy Carter the lust was only in my mind (and tastebuds, and belly,etccheers, John

Cheers, John

Pewingsx, I just read your post. You don't have to go anywhere,since Colorado has some of the best German restaurants , like in Denver "Cafe Berlin" ,my favorite . In the last years,since I have visited Colorado and eaten there, we never had food there we did not like. There is also "Helgas" and the "Golden Europe" has excellent Czech and German food.

In Lyons ,closed to Boulder,there a few German restaurants ,one is called
"Berliner Baer" and "Andrea" (or some name close to it).
"
The Black Forest" in Nederland is excellent.

There are two more German restaurants in the mountains. I have to think about it and will post the names later.

Here in St.Louis, we finally got a new German restaurant The Gast haus,which has good food.

Two places stick out in my mind. The Berghoff in Chicago. The veal meatloaf at lunch is wonderful. Had a VP at a company I used to work for call me on the carpet for having such LOW meal bills when I was in Chicago (I was eating at the Berghoff all the time), I fixed the problem by having them put a bottle of their bourbon on the bill at each meal.

Rhineland House in Charlotte. Been in business for thirty plus years.

quote:

Originally posted by spaetzelboy

quote:

Originally posted by kozel

I never did get to Chalet Alpina but I think it's still there. I was on Metro yesterday but didn't take notice.
http://www.bohemianhall.com/home.htm

It's in Astoria, is the last remaining beer garden and is Czech not German. There's a big Czech population in Astoria. And let us remember that Pilsner beer is named for a town (Pilsen) in the Czech republic.

Enjoy your dad while you can. In this past year we lost the last member of the 'older generation' in our family. We are now that generation. Being German, did anyone in your family have an appreciation for Liederkranz Cheese?

So I got real sentimental tonight and made pork cutlets and spaetzel.

... It was my first attempt at spaetzel, so it was a bit like eating buckshot, but the pork was good.

One of the articles about N-stein's demise mentioned the Alpine Chalet, it's still open apparently.

A czech beer garden . . . hmm . . . in a phrase containing the words "beer" and "garden" everything else appears secondary. I must czech it out. . . . sorry.

Koz, dad's doing great thanks - I told him he was my best Christmas gift. It's funny you mention losing the "older generation". When the last of my grandparents died 6 or 7 years ago, we were having the funeral dinner (where else) and my cousin informed our parents that they had all "moved up a notch".

Liederkranz Cheese sounds familiar, I'll have to ask. But dad's favorite treats were pickled herring, pigs feet, marrowglace, and saurbraten. And dad didn't like the saurbraten at N-stein's because it wasn't sour enough. Apparently when grandma made saurbraten she would just take a pot roast and soak it in vinegar for a few days. Yum. Dad's such a kraut. Course he can't eat any of that stuff since the coronary.

Thanks again for the links!

-T

I've just read thru a lot of these posts with great interest. The roots of my German side (Dad) are in Ridgewood Brooklyn.

In the late 70s/early 80's I spent quite a lot of time bar hopping at the German American places with some old pals in that area as a way of reconnecting with my roots:

Zum Stammstitch, Gottschier Hall, Vollmerdings, Triangle hofbrau, Flessls, Vienna Tavern, Eagles Nest (named after you know what, holy cow!), and so on. How's that for references?

My favorite was a place called Tyroler Haus. It was during a point in time when that particular area was changing rapidly, so here was a place with German beer on tap, posters of Munich, Old school bartender, bratwurst on the menu, and a clientele that was 80% hispanic. Cool.

Sorry to hear that alomost all of these places are gone. --Ken

Ken:
As far as I know, Zum Stammtistch is still around, which is good, because it runs circles around some of the other "authentic" German restaurants in the city (as a previous poster said, Rolf's is a little pricey for mediocre food in a Christmas ambiance, and the Heidelberger, on the Upper East Side, in Yorkville, was way past its prime a least a decade ago...very mediocre cuisine...sad that this is the only surviving restaurant in the once thriving German community up there in Yorkville.)

Ken
How about Sammet's that used to be on Onderdonk and Linden.Had my grandparents 50th aniversery there back in 1980

Sammet's is long gone. It is now an Ecuadorian place.

A little history lesson...
http://timesnewsweekly.com/Archives2005/Apr.-Jun.2005/062305/NewFiles/OURNEIGH.html

Any thoughts on the Old Europe in Washington, DC. Am considering doing some Oktoberfesting there.

Bernard's restaurant in Stevens Point, Wisconsin calls themselves "continental," though the beer stein on their sign indicates which part of the continent they feature! The place doesn't look like much from the outside...or from the inside either, for that matter. Just your typical Wisconsin supper club with the bar in front and dance hall in the back.

Bernard himself is the real thing, a true continentally trained chef, transplanted to the middle of Wisconsin. His jaeger schitzel is tasty, the wiener schitzel is my favorite...or maybe second best, if there is roast goose with red cabbage and spaetzl I'll order that...then there's the sauerbraten...

The desserts are worth saving space for: linzer torte, and more.

Check out the giant jar of home made fruit liqueur on the bar.

Hello all ,

I really enjoyed reading some of these posts about the German restaurants of long ago , and some that are still hanging in there .

I have the Black Forest Inn less than a mile from me in Highland Mills NY . For those of you that know where Woodbury Commons is . It is about four miles north of the commons on Rt. 32 .

I do happen to know the son of the owner , went to school with him and he runs a tight ship . Excellent German cuisine .

Entertainment most weekends , authentic sounding beer garden type music

Weekends reservations are a must . Closed on Tuesdays I think.


Gus tavern in Newburgh has an Octoberfest this coming weekend Sept 10-11th . They set up two big tents in the parking lot and serve good german food and adult refreshments .

The entertainment is also good . I try to stop by there for an hour or two every year .

For Seafarer John , Where is the smokehouse in Kingston ? There are very few places in the Orange County area where you can get great German Baloney and such .

Benzee

Sweetest Day found us at Milwaukee's Lemke's Crest, a small neighborhood restaurant. This time I was wise enough to bring along my digiatl camera. I feel like you may appreciate my wife's Saurbraten, red cabbage and Bavarian dumpling, which was one of the closet to those made by my grandmother.

Just read a news item on the net 12/22/05 that Linda Tripp has opened a German Rest/ take out type place someplace in Va. I wonder if Bill Clinton likes German Food? Chow Jim

Ripped off from some website for your convenience:

Eat One of Linda Tripp's Footlongs
It seems that Linda Tripp's gone from listening to her galpals talk about swallowing the sausage to being a purveyor of her very own! She and her husband Dieter Rausch are the Frau und Herr of Weihnachts Markt in Middleburg, Virginia.

Weihnachts Markt is a traditional German Christmas market plunked down along the Middleburg's main drag.
Middleburg resident Linda Tripp (yes, of Clinton scandal fame) and her husband, German architect Dieter Rausch, are serving up bratwurst and other German delights to hungry, if not curious, passersby...The couple opened their "magical" little house of treats three years ago.


The speciality of the house is authentic German "weisswurst" a white sausage that is boiled and never grilled -- not even by House Impeachment Managers with bad haircuts and jowls!

Given the length and thickness of the brats, and Herr Rausch's predilection for wearing lederhosen, Weihnachts Markt is more than a house of German cuisine -- it's a bona fide paradise for the Sprockets sex-fetishist set. But it's for a limited time only: Wiehnachts "closes for the season" on New Years. So get there without delay: it's just about the wurst thing ever!—

The Berghoff in Chicago to close in February!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051228berghoff,1,7368741.story?coll=chi-news-hed\

Berghoff closing is a pity. Such a good place. After hearing the news, we went there last night. Waited in line outside for 45 minutes. A good time had by all. We ate (forgive the spelling) sauerbraten, wiener shnitzel, rham shnitzel, lamb shank, creamed spinach (their specialty), spaetzel, sauerkraut, and apple struedel a la mode washed down with a pitcher of wheat beer. After a few recent trips to Germany, I can tell you this is the real thing. Delicious.

Our waiter, Fernando, informed us they did not know about the closing until the 10 AM staff meeting on the day of the announcement. He is a relative newcomer having only 27 years seniority. His station is in the corner of the upstairs dining room. He told us the senior waiters get the good stations. Those guys have around 40 years seniority. Many newcomers quit because the work is too hard and the hours long. He came to Chicago from Puerto Rico to make a better life. He works hard and makes good money. He has no plan set for after the closing.

I wonder why so many of these restaurants close? Are the recipes that daunting? I would find it hard to believe people don't want to eat there?

I know of a place Charlottesvile Va called the Bavaria house which is good. Incredible beer selection. I hope they stay in business.
There is a Cafe/Bakery in Durham NC that is very good and was mentioned before on this thread. They opened a new wing for lunch and it is great.
If I win the powerball lottery I am going to go to Germany and
bring back some chefs to create a huge German restaurant.

quote:

I wonder why so many of these restaurants close? Are the recipes that daunting?

In a world where diners will flock to pseudo "Italian" restaurants eating microwave pre-cooked meals, it probably is tough to justify a seven day brining to make a real sauerbraten. That and the fear they will look like Gert Frome from German dining; of course they could look like the late Max Schmeling but that's not what pops into some minds.

You mean Gert Frobe I suspect. AKA Goldfinger
Yes if people are satisfied with Olive Garden, the situation might be hopeless.
Also too many people out there who pride themselves as "Chefs" who create these dainty little plates where they dribble their reduced basalmic vinegar into artisitc curly cues for their own egos. Then
charge a fortune. Ughhhhhh Wheres my Sauerbraten!!!Mein Gott!

Otto's Brauhaus in Horsham, PA is still open. www.ottosbrauhaus.com

The Hoffman Haus in center city Philadelphia and the Schwarzwald Inn in Olney are long gone.

Ja, das icht Bert Frobe

http://www.ludwigsrestaurant.com/index.html

Charlottesville Va

I've seen a post here mentioning the Sunrise Village on Long Island that existed many years ago. I was never in the place but heard alot about it. Anyway the last owner who sold it traveled around the country with family for around a year after that. Once that trip was finished they got the restaurant itch again and opened a smaller german restaurant just up the road from the former location of the Sunrise Village. They are about to celebrate their 25th anniversary at their restaurant called the Oak Chalet. Their website url is www.oakchalet.net. I also know that one of the current owners of Zum Stammtische (Werner) trained in their kitchen for a while. He not only learned a bit about cooking but did a little cooking of his own by meeting his future wife, who is the niece of the chef of the Oak Chalet. So the Sunrise Village, Oak Chalet and Zum Stammtische share some history together.

quote:

Originally posted by Benzee
Gus tavern in Newburgh has an Octoberfest this coming weekend Sept 10-11th . They set up two big tents in the parking lot and serve good german food and adult refreshments .

This got me to thinking about a really great German restaurant that my parents & I used to patronize many years ago. Located in Cold Spring, NY (the one on the Hudson River--not the one on Long Island) was Gus's Antique Bar, or at least I think that was the name. I have eaten a lot of Sauerbraten in my life, and I still think that what I used to have at Gus's was the best. Perhaps it was even better than the Sauerbraten that I make occasionally.

So, here's my question:
Is "Gus Tavern" in Newburgh run by the same people who operated the place in Cold Spring? I'm sure that old Gus himself is long gone, but perhaps his children run this other place, and perhaps the recipes are the same. If that is the case, I would love to take a drive to that restaurant. Does anyone know the answer to my question?

Our favorite German restaurant is located in Lake Placid NY - the Alpine Cellar (located downstairs at the Alpine Motor Inn) It was closed for awhile, but has re-opened in the past couple of years, and the sauerbraten is still my favorite. I've been making their Red Cabbage recipe for years which is printed in a regional cookbook of recipes from local restaurants, but I have never been able to get my sauerbraten remotely close to what they serve at the Alpine. (guess I'll just have to keep trying!)

On trips to the Outer Banks, NC
I like to go to The Weeping Radish in Manteo, NC.
Great food, good microbrew.

I recently learned of another German restaurant, this one in Shepherdstown, WV, The Bavarian Inn.
Aside from the beautiful scenic views from this property, the food and service is excellent.

The dining room is very formal, but we had a late lunch in the casual downstairs bar. Good times!
We're hoping to get back there and stay at the inn.

quote:

Originally posted by MilwFoodlovers

I wonder why so many of these restaurants close? Are the recipes that daunting?

I think alot of these restaurants close is because the owners reach retirement age or due to Health reasons, can no long run and manage these resturants. Then years ago this would mean the younger generation would take over, but now adays the younger generations don't take over the restaurant. They see 9 to 5 job, with good salaries and good benefits.

Because they are ethnic type places, a chain, a non-ethnic person or a another type of restaurant won't take it over, thus it closes.